I was off of work this Monday, April 13th and I spent a lot of time –more than expected– at the park searching for birds. As I embarked I had one specific bird in mind that I wanted to photograph and that was a Green-winged Teal. I'd seen them at the park in previous years, as well as in other places and learned they can be camera shy. I hiked quickly to the duck pond on the southwest corner of the park and sure enough spotted both Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal there. As expected they were on the opposite side of the pond from me and would quickly move to the other side whenever I walked around towards them. After much back and forth I decided to slowly "lurk" closer over time, stopping here and there for 15-20 minutes before moving quietly closer. It was muddy along the shore and more than once my foot sunk completely underwater with foul smelling swamp muck. I stuck to stepping on visible tree roots after a while and eventually made my way to narrower section of the pond where the ducks would have no choice to be closer to me as long as they remained on the water. Even though I had a longer lens than this time last year it was still a struggle to get within range as Teal are just as "wild" and unapproachable as Wood Ducks –or maybe even more so.
I find Blue-winged Teal are the slightly more approachable of the two which isn't saying much. But a male finally came within range. Though a little more plain looking, the male's head will show just a hint of iridescence in the right light. You can see just a little blend to violet on his head in this photo. While I sat and waited and waited and waited for the Green-winged, I heard then spotted a Ruby-crowned Kinglet bouncing around in the trees above me. Sometimes it is really nice to just sit in one place in the woods and watch things around you versus continually moving yourself. I was also rewarded with a nice view of a Cooper's Hawk that glided right over me, swooped upwards and then landed in a tree not far away. I spied his perch through my binoculars and he continued to stay there at least another 30 minutes.
Finally some action from the Green-winged Teals came as not just one but two made their way along the shoreline closer to me. They are "dabbling" ducks not divers, meaning they often have their head poking under water looking for food. So even if you do see them they don't always present their best side to you. After waaaay more time and waaaay more photos than anticipated, I finally gleaned these two images of a male, though I wanted desperately to get even closer. These are unfortunately still cropped quite a bit but you can see why they are such a beautiful bird. In the right light, their rusty brown head is split with an emerald green swath of feathers from their eye and dipping down the neckline. Such a strikingly beautiful bird!
Last spring I also learned their call which is a quiet little inconspicuous "peep" that repeats about 3 to 5 times. I heard this sound again today while watching them. After at least a couple of hours invested, I decided I just wasn't going to get any closer today so I finally gave in and decided to hike the rest of the way around the park. I eventually saw a few more Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Ring-billed Gull, and one Great Horned Owlet still in the nest on the north side.
The only good image I got was this little Song Sparrow who posed nicely for me in the light at the base of a large tree. Oh, and I also saw a Mourning Cloak Butterfly!
I find Blue-winged Teal are the slightly more approachable of the two which isn't saying much. But a male finally came within range. Though a little more plain looking, the male's head will show just a hint of iridescence in the right light. You can see just a little blend to violet on his head in this photo. While I sat and waited and waited and waited for the Green-winged, I heard then spotted a Ruby-crowned Kinglet bouncing around in the trees above me. Sometimes it is really nice to just sit in one place in the woods and watch things around you versus continually moving yourself. I was also rewarded with a nice view of a Cooper's Hawk that glided right over me, swooped upwards and then landed in a tree not far away. I spied his perch through my binoculars and he continued to stay there at least another 30 minutes. 
Finally some action from the Green-winged Teals came as not just one but two made their way along the shoreline closer to me. They are "dabbling" ducks not divers, meaning they often have their head poking under water looking for food. So even if you do see them they don't always present their best side to you. After waaaay more time and waaaay more photos than anticipated, I finally gleaned these two images of a male, though I wanted desperately to get even closer. These are unfortunately still cropped quite a bit but you can see why they are such a beautiful bird. In the right light, their rusty brown head is split with an emerald green swath of feathers from their eye and dipping down the neckline. Such a strikingly beautiful bird! 
Last spring I also learned their call which is a quiet little inconspicuous "peep" that repeats about 3 to 5 times. I heard this sound again today while watching them. After at least a couple of hours invested, I decided I just wasn't going to get any closer today so I finally gave in and decided to hike the rest of the way around the park. I eventually saw a few more Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Ring-billed Gull, and one Great Horned Owlet still in the nest on the north side. 
The only good image I got was this little Song Sparrow who posed nicely for me in the light at the base of a large tree. Oh, and I also saw a Mourning Cloak Butterfly!
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